SQE2 pass rates by sitting

Pass rates by sitting

Figures are the SRA's, from its statistical reports and results announcements. The overall rate includes candidates who were resitting. April is the largest sitting each year. It is the first SQE2 sitting after the January SQE1 results.

Why SQE2 passes more candidates than SQE1

SQE1 passed 53% of candidates in January 2026. SQE2 passed 80% at its sitting in the same month. The two exams are not the same difficulty measured on different people. They are different exams sat by different groups, and the SQE2 group has already passed SQE1.

The SRA's own review of four years of the SQE points to this. A candidate's SQE1 score explains 23.5% of the variation in SQE2 scores. A pass rate of 83% does not mean SQE2 is easy. It means the candidates who reach it are already strong on the law.

Two figures to note

In April 2026, first-time candidates with no qualifying work experience passed at 90%. Those who had some passed at 73%. The SRA does not give a reason. It does not show that work experience harms results. A likely factor is time: candidates who go straight from study sit SQE2 soon after SQE1, with the law still fresh.

The second figure is first language. In January 2026, first-time candidates whose first language is English had a mean scaled score of 337. Those with another first language had a mean of 309, nine points above the pass mark. The SRA makes no adjustment for a second language. Its spelling and grammar guidance does protect errors that leave the meaning clear, and the marking criteria page explains how.

How grades become a pass

Each criterion in a station is graded A to F, from Superior performance to Poor performance, with A worth 5 marks and F worth 0. The skills criteria and the law criteria each give a percentage, and the two count equally in the station score. The final score is the mean of the 16 station scores, oral and written weighted the same.

The decoder above follows these rules for one station. Enter the grades from a marked answer and it shows the skills half, the law half and the station score.

What the figures cannot tell you

A pass rate says how a whole cohort did. It says nothing about your own weakest skill or practice area, and SQE2 tests six skills in five practice areas. A station score in the 50s in one skill and area can be offset by stronger ones elsewhere, but only if the stronger ones exist. The how to pass SQE2 page covers how to find and fix the weak combinations.